U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) initiated the Ground Mobility Vehicle 1.1 (GMV 1.1) program to find a suitable vehicle to replace their HMMWV based GMV’s. After a long and sometimes contentious process, the Flyer 72 ALSV was selected as USSOCOM's new GMV over the other two competition finalists, AM General's GMV 1.1 and Navistar Defense's Special Operations Tactical Vehicle.

Being able to fulfill a multitude of different mission types performed by US Special Forces, the Flyer 72 is transportable by V-22 Osprey, UH-60 Blackhawk CH-47 Chinook (internally) and CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters.  It is also cost-effective in that role as around 80 percent of the ALSV is built using commercial-off-the-shelf or Humvee compatible parts, yet also being able to be uparmored if a mission calls for that feature.

The Flyer 72 GMV 1.1 should not be confused with very similar Flyer 60 ALSV, also built by Flyer Defense.  The main difference between the vehicles is that the Flyer 60 is about two inches shorter in length and about one foot shorter in height and narrower in width.

As a confusing side note, another version of the Flyer 72 ALSV was entered into the US Army's later Ultra Light Combat Vehicle (ULCV) Program, which it also won. That version is referred to as the M1297 Army Ground Mobility Vehicle 1.1. 

In yet another Army program in 2019, a new Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) was to be selected.  The upgraded Flyer 72 was also entered into this competition by Polaris, but with Oshkosh Defense joining them as a partner.  Unfortunately, the Flyer 72 was not selected again by the Army, being beaten out by the Infantry Squad Vehicle submitted by the General Motors Defense LLC./Ricardo PLC consortium.